Now Commenting On:

Tracy wants to be back in Rox dugout next season

Tracy wants to be back in Rox dugout next season

Email

Print

Jim Tracy 100212

By
/
|

PHOENIX -- Rockies manager Jim Tracy will meet Friday with club vice president of Major League operations Bill Geivett to discuss the direction of the franchise. Tracy made it clear Wednesday, before the regular-season finale with the D-backs, that he wants to guide the team.

Tracy is signed through next season under a deal that avoids having him manage in the last year of his contract. But commitment to continuing with him on the field will have to come out of the meeting. The Rockies have not cast doubt on Tracy returning, but the organization has gone through massive changes and a solid direction must be set.

"I'm here," Tracy said. "I have a lot of people in that clubhouse that I love. You hear me. I don't just like them. I love them.

"What is so meaningful to me is when you have a season like this, there does come a point in time when there's a lot of finger-pointing going on. I have no sense whatsoever that's what's taking place. That's real gratifying. I've never had to walk in, look in the mirror and say, 'They quit on me today.'"

Not only will Tracy's team lose the most games in a season in Rockies history, but it's a record for losses for a Tracy-managed club -- and he managed Pirates teams in 2006 and 2007. But Tracy insisted this situation is different.

This team dealt with the injury losses of shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, first baseman Todd Helton, outfielder-first baseman Michael Cuddyer and catcher Ramon Hernandez, as well as significant time lost for pitchers Juan Nicasio, Jhoulys Chacin and Jorge De La Rosa. All could be part of the picture next year, and Tracy has liked the performance of the young players.

"No disrespect meant, but back at that time in Pittsburgh, there weren't too many young kids to go to," Tracy said. "It continued to be a bunch of veteran guys who were playing to finish up 162 games. One highlight going back to those days was the emergence of Freddy Sanchez, and I saw the potential emergence of Jose Bautista.

"Here now, you're talking about Wilin Rosario, Jordan Pacheco, DJ LeMahieu, Dexter Fowler, Josh Rutledge, pitching-wise Drew Pomeranz and Alex White's capability. There's so much more in this package than there was then."

If the talent is there, the biggest question is direction.

"It is important for the theme to be one general thing that this is how we're going to do it," Tracy said. "This is how we're going to stay with it. This is how we're going to go about it. This is the way we have to go about it in order for it to be able to work."